The workflow of photogrammetry in
paleontology consists of two or three main
parts:
1. Photography
2. Image editing (may not be necessary)
3. Model calculation
Model calculation itself consists in principle of
the following steps:
1. In-program data setup (includes scaling
preparations)
2. Alignment (includes scaling) including spare
point cloud generation
3. Dense point cloud generation (may be
skipped if a polygon mesh is to be
calculated. However, meshes from dense
clouds are usually superior)
4. Polygon mesh generation (if desired)
5. Texture generation (if desired)
6. Data export
We provide detailed instructions for the
photography part below. The image editing
required is normally limited to masking and
requires no further explanations. We also detail
the model calculation methods we use as
suggestions for a general workflow. However,
programs change so rapidly that it is highly
recommended to use our methods as a basis
for own experimentation.
We attempt to give all information relevant to
one step of the work process in the respective
section, which means that information
pertaining to one topic may be spread out
across various parts of the text or repeated.
However, we feel that photogrammetry novices
are better served by this organization, as it
facilitates the use of this work as a take-along
handbook for work during travels.